cron-quickstart

Use the OpenClaw cron tool for scheduling reminders, delayed follow-ups, and recurring periodic checks. Covers one-shot and recurring schedules, session targeting, delivery modes, and wake events.

Cron Quickstart Skill

Schedule reminders, delayed tasks, and periodic checks using the OpenClaw cron tool.

When to Use

• One-shot reminders ("remind me in 20 minutes")
• Recurring periodic tasks ("every Monday at 9 AM")
• Deferred follow-ups ("check back after the meeting")
• Waking a session at a specific time

Schedule Types

One-shot (at)

json

{ "kind": "at", "at": "2026-09-02T18:00:00Z" }

Recurring (every)

json

{ "kind": "every", "everyMs": 3600000 }

Cron expression (cron)

json

{ "kind": "cron", "expr": "0 9 * * 1-5", "tz": "Asia/Shanghai" }

Payload Types

• systemEvent — Injects text as a system event into a session (use with sessionTarget: "main")
• agentTurn — Runs an agent turn with a message (use with sessionTarget: "isolated" or "current")

Common Patterns

Simple Reminder

json

{
  "name": "Meeting reminder",
  "schedule": { "kind": "at", "at": "2026-09-02T09:00:00Z" },
  "payload": { "kind": "systemEvent", "text": "Reminder: Team standup meeting starts now." },
  "sessionTarget": "main"
}

Periodic Check

json

{
  "name": "Email triage",
  "schedule": { "kind": "every", "everyMs": 21600000 },
  "payload": { "kind": "agentTurn", "message": "Check for urgent emails and summarize." },
  "sessionTarget": "isolated",
  "delivery": { "mode": "announce" }
}

Cron Schedule

json

{
  "name": "Morning briefing",
  "schedule": { "kind": "cron", "expr": "0 8 * * *", "tz": "Asia/Shanghai" },
  "payload": { "kind": "agentTurn", "message": "Prepare a morning briefing of calendar, news, and weather." },
  "sessionTarget": "current"
}

Key Constraints

• sessionTarget: "main" requires payload.kind: "systemEvent"
• sessionTarget: "isolated" | "current" | "session:xxx" requires payload.kind: "agentTurn"
• ISO timestamps without timezone are treated as UTC
• Use delivery.mode: "announce" for isolated agent results
• Use deleteAfterRun: true for one-shot jobs that should auto-cleanup

Manage Jobs

• List: cron list
• Run immediately: cron run
• Check history: cron runs
• Remove: cron remove
• Wake session: cron wake